Water-cooled grate



Jul 26,1921. 631,216

I W. H. CUNNINGHAM ET AL WATER COOLED .GRATE Filed Jan. 12, 1926 .2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS William/.12. U

5 Jmw57ffl owalq ,%i I 6 ATTORNEY.

Jul 26,1927. 1,637, 8 I W. H. CUNNINGHAM ET AL WATER CQOLED GRATE Filed Jan.l2, 1926 2 Sheets-Shea 2 25 4 H 23 gcla J3 J3 J5 J9 I I 2 W V &

I N VEN TORS William/fl aUUliIly/WZ BY James T Rowmu,

W TTORNEY' Patented July 26, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. CUNNINGHAM AND JAMES T. ROWAN, OI PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

WATER-COOLED GRATE.

Application filed January 12, 1926. Serial No. 80,849.

This invention relates to stove grate structures and pertains particularly to a water cooled grate.

The primary object of this invention is the provision, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, of a grate structure for stoves having water passages therethrough whereby water may be caused to pass through the grate for heating purposes and carried to a storage tank of the type usually used in connection with stoves and furnaces, the structure being especially designed to provide means for supplying hot water at all times and at the same time do away with the usual water back which is located in stove and furnace fire boxes.

The invention has for another object the provision of a gratestructure having tubular bars upon which the grate dogs are supported and through which water is adapted to flow to prevent any possibility of the burning out or buckling of the grate structure as sometimes happens when ashes are allowed to back up against the grate from the underside.

A still further object of the invention is the provision, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, of a grate structure formed of a plurality of intermeshing removable dogs of substantially triangular conformation and designed when properly arranged to present a flat grate surface for the support of coal and ashes, the said dogs being loosely interlocked to prevent any binding or buckling upon expansion or contraction of the parts.

A final object of the invention is the pro vision, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, of a water cooled separable gear operated grate structure which is of simple but strong and durable construction. easily and quickly installed, adapted to have parts replaced as desired, and inexpensive to manufacture and set up.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, with the understanding that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings but may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention 'as expressed in the appended claim.

In the drawings V Figure 1 shows the grate embodying this invention in top plan view and in position in a fire box, a portion of the front of a stove structure being shown in horizontal section.

Figure 2 shows in front elevation the tire box housing the grate showing the meshed operating gears mounted upon the outer end of the firebox.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section taken upon the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a transverse section taken upon the line 4-4' of Figure 1. V

Figure 5 is a transverse section taken upon the line 55 of Figure 1. Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken upon the line 66 of one of the dogs shown in Figure 5, the dog being removed from the grate structure.

Figure 7 is a vertical longitudinal section taken through the dog shown in Figure 6, upon the line 7-7 of this figure.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numerals 1 and 2 indicate a portion ofthe front and back respectively of a stove or furnace structure. Figure 3 indicates the side walls of the same and mounted within the lower part of the furnace structure between the front and back and side walls thereof, is the firebox base portion indicated as a whole by the numeral 4, which is supported upon proper flange supporting structures 5 located in the ash pit of the stove. x

The firebox base 4 which is removable from the lower portion of the stove structure is provided with the longitudinally extending spaced parallel tubular bars or pipes 5, the ends of which extend through the end walls of the base structure 4 as shown. The rear ends of the tubular bars 5 are provided with screw threads as indicated at 6 to enable these tubes to be connected to a water tank, while the forward ends of the bars which extend through and beyond the front wall of the base 4 are connected by means of the return tube 7 so that water flowing in at the rear end of one of the bars will pass through the return tube and out of the adjacent bar. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the front wall of the firebox base portion 4 is spaced a substantial distance from the front wall 1 of the stove structure, to enable the return tube 7 to be housed between these two walls. v y

Mounted upon theforward end of each of the tubular bars 5 in front of the front wall of the base 4:, is a gear member 8 and, as shown in Figure 2,'these gears are in mesh so that upon the turning of one,the other one will turn also.

Each of these gears: Shas a hub 9 which extends inwardly therefrom and through the front wall of the base of the firebox 4:. As is shown, each of these hubs is provided with a central transverse slot 10, the-purpose of which will become apparent as the description proceeds; These hubs bear directly uponthe baseel through which they extend. Mountedup'on eachof the tubular bars 5 is a plurality of equilateraltriangular dogs 11, each ,of which has a central opening therethiough, through which the bar extends. Each of these dogs 11 is provided with a tubular extensionor hub portion 12, one end of which is formed to provide the centrally positioned transverse tongue or diametrically oppositely positioned tongue sections 13, while the" other end of the hub is provided with the diametrically positioned aligned'slots 14, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. This constructionof the dogs is the same 1 forall except those dogs 15 which'are positioned attherearends of the tubular bars 5 and these dogs while provided at one end of the'hub' lfifiwith the tongues 17 are not provided atthe'other end of the hub with thejslots'like those with which the hubs of the dogs "11 are provided. ..These unslotted ends of the hubs 16 of theend'dogs 15, bear against therear wall ofj the" firebox base 4 "as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The hubs 16 axially aline with the central openings of the dogs 11.

As" is clearly shown in Figures 1 and 3 theforwardone of the dogs 11 upon each of the bars 5 has the tongue portions 13 engaged in the slots 10 of the hubs 9 of the adjacent gear members 8 and each of the succeedingdogs upon'these tubular bars has the tongue portions of the hubs engaged in the slotjor slots formed in the end of the hub of the preceding dog. In this manner all of the dogs are held in radially intermeshed" or interlocked revoluble relation uponthe tubular bars 5 and upon the turning'of'the gears 8, the dogs can be made to revolveor oscillate upon the bars.

"As is clearly shown in Figures 1 and 3 theftongues' and slotted parts of the hubs of the dogs are not tightly fitted together but are slightlyspaced apart. This is to allow for the longitudinal expansion and contraction of the, dogsuponthe tubular .bars' 5 "to prevent any binding or buckling of thesamethrough the action of the heat.

1 The front and rear walls of the firebox base portion 4 'inay' be provided with tongued removable sections which will enable the assembler to set the tubular grate In order to shake the grate structure embodying this invention, there is provided a crank 19 having the elongated right angled shaft 20, upon and adjacent the outer endof which there lS'lllOllllllCd a pinion gear 21, which is adapted to mesh with one of the gears 8 to cause the same to be revolved oroscillated "upon proper movement of the crank 19. The free end of the shaft 20 is adapted to havebearings in the front wall of the base 4 as indicated at 22, and the shaftadjacent its inner end is provided with acollar member 23 for the purpose about to be described. g i

a The front wall 1 of the stove bodyis provided with a relatively large openin in which the collar 23 carriedupon the siaft 20 of the crank is adapted to fit, when the crank is in-the position shown-in Figure 1. When the crank is removed from this position to disengage the pinion gear 21 trom the gears 8, a wicket 24, which is pivotally mounted as at 25 upon the front wall 1, may be swung down over the opening'which the co1lar23 fits to close the same and thus prevent anydust from leaving the ash pit ofthe stove. r

Having thus described our invention what we claim is I p y a In a furnace grate structure a lurality of spaced, stationary, parallel tu es constituting water heating conduits extending through the fire box of the furnace and having a communicating connection therebetween at their front ends positioned forwardly of the the box of the furnace, a shiftable'set of grate dogs mounted on each tube within the fire box, eachdog of a set consisting "of an inverted equilateral triangular shaped body portion having an axial opening for the passage ofja tube and further including oppositely extending tubular extensions axially aligning with the opening thereof, said extensions having'means providing radial intermeshing connections betures hereto. 1

' WILLIAM H. CUNNINGHAM.

JAMES T. ROWAN. 

